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Charisma Magazine

We will never experience the true fire of the Holy Spirit without close fellowship with Him.

You can live a life of extraordinary, supernatural power! The secret is actually quite simple. God’s power is obtained through a lifestyle of intimacy with Him.

Jesus understood the connection between power and intimacy. Luke 5:15-16 says, “Great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed” (NKJV).

Jesus was constantly flowing in the anointing and releasing the power of God through His life to others. The level of His anointing was in direct proportion to His prayer life. Everything He accomplished in His earthly ministry was birthed out of the time He spent with the Father in prayer.

In John 5:19 Jesus declares, “‘Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.’” The mighty power that flowed through Jesus’ life to work miracles was a direct result of His communion with God.

God taught me this truth early on in my walk with Him. Both before and during my years in pastoral ministry I would spend hours a day waiting in His presence.

At that time I had no idea how God would use me to bring His love and power to thousands. I would often walk into my office at the church as a young pastor to find the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit waiting there for me. Periodically I would spend all day and night locked in my office basking in the radiance of His glory.

One day I felt guilty for spending so much time in prayer. I knew there were practical things that needed to be done. But God said to me, “Matt, if you do not have this time with Me now, you will not be able to walk in what I have for you in the future.”

Instantly all the guilt was gone. I knew that my future ministry would be released out of the time I was spending with God. And of course, the tasks I had to do always got done.

After five years of pastoral ministry, during which the anointing of God increased on my life, I suddenly found myself being launched out by Him into a worldwide, prophetic healing ministry. Over the last several years we have seen thousands saved, healed and delivered by God’s power.

I attribute the anointing I have today to the years of hidden devotion I had with God both as a young person and a pastor.

I could write pages of accounts of divine encounters in which the power of God has been released as a result of my cultivating a relationship with the Holy Spirit in my life. One particularly memorable event occurred during a church service in West Virginia. It was 8:30 p.m., and we had already been worshiping for an hour and a half. Suddenly God said to me, “At 9:00 p.m. My power will hit this place.”

I knew something extraordinary was about to happen.

I stood at the pulpit and encouraged those in attendance to continue worshiping. Then I instructed the ushers to close off all the air vents. I didn’t want anyone to mistake the air conditioning for the wind of God.

The members of the congregation lifted up their hands and began to worship with a new fervor. The atmosphere became electrified with a supernatural faith.

At precisely 9:00 p.m. I could feel a surge of power hit my body as the person of the Holy Spirit swept across the sanctuary. Some could feel a physical wind blowing over their bodies, while others felt a tangible fire. God had invaded the meeting!

As we have allowed the Holy Spirit to move in our
meetings since that incident, we have also witnessed the healing of cancer, the opening of deaf ears, the restoration of sight to blind eyes and the ability to walk to the lame, as well as the healing of deep emotions. Glory to God!

Let me encourage you to continually develop a lifestyle of intimacy with God. Not only will you experience His tremendous power, but you will also enjoy getting to know Him, walking closely with Him and learning the secrets of His heart. You will discover that fellowship with Him is the greatest joy a person can experience.

You can walk intimately with God and live in the reality of His presence every day of your life. You can be a releaser of His glory in a hurting and lost world. Whether to the woman in the grocery store who needs healing from arthritis or to the multitudes in Africa and India who are starving and lost in spiritual darkness, you can carry God’s power and love as you intimately walk with God each day of your life.